Mahat, N; Tah, J H M and Vidalakis, C (2019) Sustainable construction and residential building developers in Malaysia: Factors affecting the adoption. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 35th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2019, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
The adoption and implementation of Sustainable Construction has been one of the main challenges facing the construction industry for the last three decades. The issue has attracted global attention with many governments and organizations developing codes and frameworks to encourage and enforce the adoption of Sustainable Construction. However, current evidence suggests that companies and individuals are struggling to commit to Sustainable Construction and implement the suggested policies. This paper explores from the Malaysian residential building developer’s perspective, the barriers and external drivers influencing the adoption of sustainable construction in Malaysia. A comprehensive literature survey is carried out to develop a theoretical link between sustainable construction and identified factors. This was followed by a structured questionnaire survey among 365 Developer company registered with the REHDA (Real Estate and Residential Building Developers 'Association Malaysia). 103 responses were received, 101 considered valid for analysis. Findings from the study revealed financial support (Incentives/tax rebates/subsidies, high profit margin), legislative and building regulation and availability of rating system. E.g. Green Building Index (GBI) are the key external drivers. Besides, high initial cost and investment, insufficient initiatives & support by government in term of tax rebates/subsidies/incentives and lack of improvement of legislation, Building code and byelaws are the crucial barrier to the sustainable construction adoption. The study suggests government support in term of financial incentives, change in legislation and creation of awareness can promote the adoption and at the same time can provide barriers mitigation.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | sustainable construction; barriers; external drivers; adoption |
| Index terms: | real estate, mitigation, questionnaire, evidence, green building, implementation, construction industry, building code, financial incentive, building regulation, government support, residential building, subsidy, legislation, Malaysia, sustainable construction, survey, profit |
| Subjects: | Geography, sustainable construction, financial risk, design practice, industry analysis, regulatory law, government bodies, construction type, data collection methods, evaluation and assessment methods, contractual arrangements, legal systems, economic analysis, real estate economics |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Legal Issues, Urban Studies, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Construction Technology, Procurement, Sustainability, Governance |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here